This invention relates to a communication system and method for providing messages and notifications to a user via a telephone set enabled with an alphanumeric keypad. More particularly, this invention relates to a communication system, and method for using same, that incorporate a telephone set enabled with an alphanumeric keypad and display, a private branch exchange (PBX) and a paging server integrated therewith for permitting a recipient to receive via an appliance enabled to receive alphanumeric messages.
Paging is an important element of enterprise communication systems. Many enterprises routinely distribute electronic pagers to their employees and catalog the corresponding pager IDs within the corporate directory database.
Pagers often have multi-line, scrollable, backlit displays that present alphanumeric characters, including a callback number, time and date information, and brief text messages. Some cellular telephones receive text pages if the appropriate service is enabled, and various personal digital assistants (PDAs) also receive pages if they are equipped with the appropriate reception hardware and service.
National, regional, and premise-based paging systems accept input via protocols such as Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP), enhanced TAP, Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP), and Wireless Communication Transfer Protocol (WCTP).
Protocols such as SNPP and WCTP support two-way pager operation.
In one presently common paging method, the calling user dials the telephone number of a particular pager, and inputs a callback number by depressing the appropriate combination of touchtone (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) keys. After the calling user confirms that the callback number has been correctly entered, the corresponding numeric message is sent to the pager. Due to limitations in present systems, typically only numeric information is sent when the above method is used.
In a second method, the calling user dials the pager number and is then forwarded, typically via an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), to a human operator who also functions as a transcriber by first listening to the caller""s message and then typing the message into a system. The resultant transcribed message is then sent as a text message to the paged recipient. Although this method provides for both numeric and text messages, it requires that a human operator be present to correctly transcribe each message.
In a third method, the calling user who wishes to send a text message uses a dedicated text entry terminal as an input device to enter the text message along with the desired pager number. Enterprise workers who send many pages to multiple recipients on a daily basis typically use this method. The method can be highly inconvenient since a limited number of text entry terminals in centralized locations must be shared by multiple users.
In a fourth method, the calling user enters a text message into a personal computer (PC) via a keyboard and, in turn, the computer, through its digital processing and input/output devices, transmits the message to the pager. The software applications executable on the PC for this method of keyboard entry includes: a standard e-mail client; an instant-messaging application; a dedicated software application; or a web-based client within a client-server application. Efficient practice of this fourth method requires that the calling user have access to a PC and be familiar with the operation of the specific dedicated software application. Also, since standard desktop PCs are known to be less than completely reliable, particularly when contrasted with telephone sets, a PC used in this method may crash, lock-up, or otherwise fail to execute. As such, this method of data entry has questionable applicability in life-critical paging applications such as those in hospitals and healthcare delivery systems.
At present, the keypads and displays on PBX digital telephone sets are not used for creating and sending text to external pagers, Personal Digital Appliances (PDAs), cellular telephones and the like. Usage of the PBX telephone set keyboard and display has a number of advantages over existing methods for creating and sending text to pagers. Specifically, both numeric and text-based messages can be sent, and there is no need for a human operator to transcribe text messages. Further, usage of the PBX telephone set eliminates the need for the user to share access to a limited number of centralized text entry terminals, since each user can access his personal telephone set for message composition. Finally, the reliability and ease-of-use of PBX telephone sets can be exploited, as compared to desktop PC software applications which can crash or lock-up.
The several embodiments of the present invention provide text messaging to pagers and other electronic devices, the communications being initiated at a digital telephone set with a keyboard, and without both human message transcription and modifications to existing PBX telephone systems to which the initiating digital telephone set is in communication. The communication system embodiments of the present invention have a first digital telephone set, a second digital telephone set, or its processing equivalent, having a private branch exchange (PBX)-paging server interface, and a PBX operative between the first digital telephone set and the second digital telephone set, wherein the second digital telephone set transmits text messages received from the first digital telephone set to a paging server via the PBX-paging server interface and wherein the paging server transmits the text messages to a pager. The communication method embodiments of the present invention have the steps of keying-in a text message on a first digital telephone set, transmitting the text message, via a private branch exchange (PBX), from the first digital telephone set to a second digital telephone set having a PBX-paging server interface, transmitting the text message, via the PBX-paging server interface, from the second digital telephone set to a paging server, transmitting the text message from the paging server to a pager, and displaying the text message on the pager.